Petronas-Aramco refinery in Malaysia restarts after 2-yr closure

A 300,000 barrel-per-day refinery-petrochemical complex in Malaysia run as a joint venture between Petronas and Saudi Aramco has restarted after a more than two-year closure, a source with knowledge of the matter said, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The complex in Pengerang, Johor, is resuming operations at a time when refining margins in Asia are at record levels, buoyed by a fuel demand recovery as more economies across Asia, except for China, ease COVID-19 restrictions. Low inventories of oil products globally and a drop in fuel exports from Russia following the Ukraine crisis are also underpinning prices.

The joint venture, Pengerang Refining and Petrochemical (PRefChem), did not respond to a request for comment. PRefChem was shut in March 2020 following a deadly fire. Its resumption has been delayed from last year for the entire plant to undergo detailed checks, at a time when fuel demand and refining margins were still being hit by COVID-19 lockdowns.

The refinery, which restarted last week, is processing existing crude from storage tanks, which will then be followed by supplies from Saudi Aramco, two more sources said. It is expected to take some time before operations can return to full rates, the sources said.

We remind, Pengerang Refining and Petrochemical Complex (PRefChem), 50%-50% joint venture (JV) between Petronas and Saudi Aramco, aims to restart its cracker in Malaysia this May after more than two years of staying offline following an explosion on 16 March 2020. PrefChem's complex houses a naphtha cracker that produces 1.2 million tons/year of ethylene and 600,000 tons/year of propylene. Downstream units include a 450,000 ton/year homo-PP line, a 450,000 tons/year PP copolymer, and a 400,000 tons/year HDPE unit. The company also owns a C6-based metallocene PE plant with a capacity of 350,000 tons/year.

Ethylene and propylene are the main feedstocks for the producition of polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP), respectively.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 2,487,450 tonnes in 2021, up by 13% year on year. Shipments of all grades of ethylene polymers increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market totalled 1,494.280 tonnes, up by 21% year on year. Deliveries of homopolymer PP and PP block copolymers increased, whereas shipments of PP random copolymers decreased significantly.
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Chemplast Sanmar Ltd., a chemicals manufacturer based in India has reported financial results for the period ended March 31, 2022, according to Kemicalinfo.

The company’s net profit declined by 36.4% to Rs 2.31 billion for the period ended March 31, 2022 as against Rs 3.64 billion for the period ended March 31, 2021.

Net sales increased by 34.4% to Rs 18.15 billion during the period ended March 31, 2022 as compared to Rs 13.50 billion during the period ended March 31, 2021.

The company’s net profit increased by 58.2% to Rs 6.48 billion for the full-year period ended March 31, 2022 as against Rs 4.10 billion for the full-year period ended March 31, 2021.

The company has reported net sales of Rs 59.49 billion during the full-year period ended March 31, 2022, an increase of 55.9% as compared to Rs 38.15 billion during the full-year period ended March 31, 2021.

As MRC reported earlier, Chemplast Sanmar undertook a planned shutdown at its Cuddalore PVC unit in September, 2020. Thus, the maintenance works at this unit began on September 27, 2020. The unit remained off-line for about 4-5 days. Located in Tamil Nadu, India, the Cuddalore PVC unit has a production capacity of 300,000 mt/year.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's overall PVC production reached 87,100 tonnes in 2021, down by 3% year on year. Three producers slightly decreased their output.

Chemplast Sanmar Limited is a chemical company based in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It is part of Sanmar Group which has businesses in Chemicals, Shipping, Engineering and Metals. It has a turnover of over Rs.65 billion and a presence in some 25 businesses, with manufacturing units spread over numerous locations in India.Chemplast Sanmar's manufacturing facilities are located at Mettur, Panruti, Cuddalore and Ponneri in Tamil Nadu, Shinoli in Maharashtra, and Karaikal in the Union Territory of Puducherry. It is a major manufacturer of PVC resins, chlorochemicals and piping systems. The Cuddalore PVC project commissioned in September 2009 is the largest such project to come up in Tamil Nadu. It's aggregate capacity of 235,000 tons makes it one of the largest PVC players in India.
MRC

RadiciGroup is to acquire the engineering plastics group of India-based polyester films player Ester Industries, said the company.

The company will invest EUR35m in the business, which includes a production site near Gujarat that is due to be operational next year. The deal also includes the transfer of compound lines, research laboratories, customer and supplier contacts and Ester Industries compound brand ESTOPLAST.

“The strategy of our High Performance Polymers business area has been based on working locally in the closest proximity to customers,” said RadiciGroup COO Maurizio Radici. RadiciGroup expect its annual sales in India will increase to EUR50m as a result of the acquisition.

As per MRC, Radici will build a new plant in China to increase production capacity, and will sell products in Australia.
RadiciGroup High Performance Polymers, through its company in China, Radici Plastics Suzhou Co, has signed an agreement with Duromer for the distribution of its products in Australia.

As MRC informed earlier, RadiciGroup is investing more than EUR35m to strengthen its global engineering polymer business with new plants in Mexico and China, as well as a capacity expansion in Europe. In China, work has begun on a new 25,000-square metre plant that will boost production capacity by 30,000 tonnes/year.

RadiciGroup High Performance Polymers is a multinational organization with the capacity to manufacture and supply engineering polymers (based on polyamide, polyester and other materials) around the globe, with the backing of a production and sales network across all continents, as well as research and development increasingly focused on high-performance polymers.
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France-based diversified chemical manufacturer Arkema announces the launch of TIPPOX 2028 stabilizer, the optimized stabilizer solution for the growing base of customers in PMMA production around the globe, according to SpecialChem.

TIPPOX 2028 stabilizer offers a new approach to traditionally utilized methods of handling thermal degradation.

TIPPOX 2028 stabilizer saves customers on operational costs by enabling higher processing temperature and higher throughput, while reducing defects and VOCs.

TIPPOX 2028 stabilizer expertly addresses the issue of PMMA thermal stabilization, which is essential for efficient processing.

TIPPOX 2028 outperforms typical competitor stabilizers, limiting bubble formation, and improving thermal stability with no compromise in mechanical properties, as it may happen with acrylate co-monomers.

“We are very excited to launch our TIPPOX 2028 stabilizer. Helping PMMA players to achieve higher performance and potentially lower VOCs is another example of how Arkema is delivering solutions for a more sustainable world,” Paul Guillaume Schmitt, specialities business manager for Arkema.

As MRC informed previously, in late February 2022, Arkema closed its previously announced acquisition of Ashland’s Performance Adhesives business for around USD1.65bn in an all-cash transaction. The company signed an agreement to acquire Ashland’s business in August last year. Ashland’s Performance Adhesives business supplies a wide range of adhesives for flexible packaging and pressure-sensitive adhesives for various markets, including decorative labels, protection and signage films for automotives and buildings. The business operates a network of six production plants, most of which are located in North America, and has around 330 employees.

Arkema is one of the world's leading chemical manufacturers headquartered in Colombes (near Paris, France). Founded in 2004 as a result of the restructuring of the French oil company Total, Arkema, with a turnover of EUR6.5 billion, has operations in 40 countries, 10 research centers around the world, and 85 plants in Europe, North America and Asia.
MRC

Evonik will remove its Performance Materials business unit from its product line in a bid to transform its portfolio in the course of 2023, said the company.

The firm is looking for new owners or partners of its Superabsorbents, Functional Solutions and Performance Intermediates segments – which comprise the Performance Materials business – as part of its strategic transformation. Instead, Evonik will focus its portfolio on Specialty Additives, Nutrition and Care, and Smart Materials.

Money made from the sale of these business and the operating cash flow in the coming years has been earmarked to help with the company’s green transformation. Evonik is aiming to invest more than EUR3bn – around 80% of annual growth investments – in what it calls next generation solutions (products with sustainability benefits) by 2030. The company has put out the corresponding target of increasing its sales share of next generation solutions from 37% to more than 50% by 2030.

These products include drug delivery technologies for controlled release of pharmaceutical ingredients, gas separation membranes for biogas in hydrogen, and natural-based active ingredients for cosmetics. A further EUR700m is targeted for investment in technologies which reduce CO2 emissions from production processes and infrastructure (what Evonik calls next generation technologies).

Through this investment Evonik aims to cut its operating costs by more than EUR100m a year up to 2030. This is in line with the producer’s Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) to reduce scope 1 and 2 carbon emissions by 25% from 6.5m tonnes to 4.9m tonnes by 2030.

As per MRC, Evonik Catalysts has opened a new zero liquid discharge (ZLD) plant at its facility in Dombivli, India. The new plant reduces the amount of fresh water required for production processes and turns material that was previously considered waste into saleable products. ZLD purifies and recycles wastewater at the end of an industrial process, leaving little to no effluent remaining when it is completed. This means not only more efficient water use, but also a significant reduction in waste liquid.

We remind that in February, 2020, Dow and Evonik entered into an exclusive technology partnership. Together, they plan to bring a unique method for directly synthesizing propylene glycol (PG) from propylene and hydrogen peroxide to market maturity.

Evonik is one of the world leaders in specialty chemicals. The company is active in more than 100 countries around the world and generated sales of EUR12.2 billion and an operating profit (adjusted EBITDA) of EUR1.91 billion in 2020. Evonik goes far beyond chemistry to create innovative, profitable and sustainable solutions for customers.
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